Home Alone Director Slams Franchise’s Decline After Third Film
Chris Columbus, director of the original Home Alone films, reflects on where the beloved series lost its way, pointing to the third instalment as the turning point.
Chris Columbus, the filmmaker behind the first two Home Alone films, has not held back in sharing his thoughts on the direction the franchise has taken over the years. During a recent event at the Academy Museum, Columbus identified the precise moment he believes the series began to falter, singling out the third entry as the start of its troubles.
Pinpointing the Downturn
Columbus, who also helmed Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, did not mince words when discussing the sequels that followed his involvement. He remarked that the series has been revisited with what he described as a string of subpar follow-ups.
“It’s been revisited with really bad sequels,” Columbus said. “Sorry to insult anybody, but they’ve completely fucked it up. It started with Home Alone 3 and then it just went downhill from there; Home Alone 3 is sort of the best of the bunch of the bad movies.”
While he refrained from naming every subsequent film, his comments seemed to encompass later entries such as Home Alone 4, Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, and Home Sweet Home Alone.
Wirework and Lost Authenticity
For Columbus, a significant part of the problem lies in the use of wirework for the series’ signature slapstick stunts. He feels that these effects have stripped the physical comedy of its genuine charm, leaving the pratfalls looking artificial and lacking the sense of real danger that made the originals so memorable. According to him, this shift has given the action a “false sense of the stunt,” undermining the appeal that drew audiences in the first place.
Legacy Sequel Hopes
Meanwhile, Macaulay Culkin, who starred as Kevin in the first two films, once floated an idea for a legacy sequel. His concept involved Kevin as a father, too busy with work to notice his own son’s frustrations, only to find himself locked out and on the receiving end of his child’s booby traps.
“I’m working really hard and I’m not really paying enough attention and the kid is kind of getting miffed at me and then I get locked out. He won’t let me in… and he’s the one setting traps for me,”
Culkin shared during a recent tour appearance.
What’s Next for the Stars
As for Culkin, he is set to appear in the second series of Fallout. Fans eager for more can look forward to the upcoming release schedule and timeline for the much-anticipated new season.